Superintendent
David Hallac announced today that the National Park Service delivered a
report to Congress on Dec. 16, as required by legislation passed in
December of last year.

The legislation -- Public Law 113-291, the Carl Levin and Howard P.
“Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015
(NDAA) -- contained a package of public lands bills, including one that
affects the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Section 3057 of the NDAA, passed by Congress on Dec. 19, 2014, directed
the Secretary of the Interior to take the following actions at Cape
Hatteras National Seashore:

1) review and modify wildlife buffers and designate pedestrian and vehicle corridors;
2) undertake a public process to consider modifications to the 2012 Final Rule pertaining to off-road vehicle use;
3) expedite construction of new vehicle access points;
4) report to Congress within one year of the enactment of the NDAA.

"The secretary has completed or made substantial progress towards
completing these tasks," according to the brief five-page report to
Congress, released to the public today.

“In close coordination with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, a review and modification of wildlife buffers was finalized
on June 16, 2015, within 180 days as required by the NDAA, ” the report
says.

The report notes that a public process is underway to consider
modifications to the Off-Road Vehicle Final Rule. Public scoping
meetings were held in August and the seashore has prepared a
draft Environmental Assessment, scheduled for public release and review
in January 2016.

Finally, the report says that seashore officials expedited the
construction of all off-road vehicle access projects that were
previously planned for implementation.